Instinct
by Damon's Diaries
Summary: Have you ever had that feeling? That gut instinct that tells you what you have to do? What do you do in that moment? That single moment. Do you think with your head? Or do you risk everything and think with your heart? But what if risking absolutely everything is worth it in the end? (Set 2x14)
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries**

**Damon POV**

Pain. Never ending pain. After a while it all just blends together so that you no longer know what hurts.

I'm tired. Thirsty and tired.

I have been kept here for at least eight hours now. While Stefan and Elena are away playing happy families at the lake house, I am here currently staked to a chair with some adolescent werewolves' fantasy brace around my neck. Also known as a normal day in for Damon Salvatore.

"Jules we've been here forever, I don't think he's gonna talk and we're wasting time." The others mumbled in agreement and blondie werewolf cocked her head to the side and smiled creepily at Damon's slouched form.

"Hmm I guess we have outstayed our welcome. But how about we leave a little gift to remember us by." This effectively roused me from my drowsy stated and I frowned watching as she walked slowly behind the chair and out of my view.

I heard a slight crackling noise and watched in confusion as the other wolves smirked in amusement.

Suddenly Jules was kneeling in front of me with a glowing metal rod and faster than I could blink it was inside my chest, searing hot as it punctured the skin, muscle and tissue, coming out of my back and pinning me to the chair.

"Aaaahhhhh!" I screamed feeling like ripping my own heart out, my breathing coming out in laboured pants as I tried to breathe through the pain.

"Oh and that reminds me it's a hot day outside. Isn't it Damon?" She whispered as she slipped my Lapis Lazuli ring off of my finger and threw it onto the floor.

"No, please, please, no," I whispered as she stalked over to the window. "Please, please, please," I said, my voice getting higher in the moment of desperation.

"Face it. It's not like you have anything to live for." And then she opened the curtain exposing me to the sunlight.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries**

**Elena POV**

Something was wrong. My mind had been replaying that thought over and over in my head for the last hour of my drive from the lake house back to Mystic Falls.

It had all started earlier on this evening as I was walking through the house reminiscing about the time that my family had spent here before my parents' died. Memories of Jeremy and I under the Christmas tree, smiling as we unwrapped the various presents, carefully wrapped in colorful paper. Memories of my parents in each others arms, laughing in the kitchen whilst making breakfast. Memories of the life that I no longer had, the life that I could never get back. And then this feeling of dread was suddenly buried in my stomach, weighing me down. Something was wrong.

Stefan had tried to reassure me that it was nothing, that I was just worried because of the situation we had left behind. But I was panicking and not listening to a thing that he was telling me, fearing the worst, my thoughts going straight to Jeremy.

Stefan and I had argued but somehow I knew that I was wasting time, that I had to go back. So in a moment of pure and utter terror I went with my instincts and ran.

* * *

**Elena POV**

"Pick up, pick up, pick up," I screamed in frustration as Jeremy's phone continued to ring, the sound mocking me.

"Hello," A rough, sleepy voice mumbled through the phone.

"Oh, thank God Jeremy!" I screeched.

"Elena, calm down….what? It's like three in morning! What are you doing? Where the hell are you?" He asked, worried.

"I'm driving home." I replied.

" What? Why? I repeat…..it's three in the morning! You could get killed! " He asked concerned.

"I don't know. I just….I've got this weird feeling that something bad is gonna happen. Are you sure you're okay? Is Jenna okay?" I ask.

"Yeah, she's in bed. As was I by the way. And hey where's Stefan?" He inquired.

"I don't know. Probably still at the lake house, I left kind of quickly."

"What? Elena pull over now and go to a motel." He said distressed.

"I can't do that Jeremy." I reply blankly

"Elena, wait-" I hit the end call button, effectively silencing the lecture that I was about to receive.

* * *

**Elena POV**

I was now approximately two hours and twenty minutes into my three hour long journey back home and the sun was beginning to make an appearance from behind the dull, grey clouds.

I had called everyone Caroline, Bonnie, Matt, Tyler and Alaric. All of whom were extremely confused but all were safe at home; however the feeling was still there, making me feel physically sick, like my insides were disintegrating. And if Damon would just pick up his damn phone then maybe, just maybe it would go away. But nine calls later and he is still refusing to answer. Trust Damon to be the one person who I can't reach at 5:20 am.

My fingers are gripping the steering wheel like a vice, my knuckles turning bone white. I still can't shake that feeling. I try my best to push away the disturbing thoughts that are currently clouding my mind.

* * *

**Elena POV**

'Welcome To Mystic Falls' is the only verification I need to continue on driving through the familiar looking road into town.

The road winds and bends as the trees on either side of the car rush by in a blur of brown and green.

As my speed increases so does the feeling of anxiety in the pit of my stomach. I'm getting nearer.

Green and brown slowly fades and moulds into buildings.

The sun is searing through the wind shield and blinding my vision and I fumble with the visor above my head. I turn back to the road just in time to see a man right in front of the car and I slam my foot down on the brake launching me forward, only to be caught by my seatbelt and flung back against my chair.

"Watch where you're going! There's a speed limit you know!" He yells at me from his spot on the road and the runs toward the pavement as if I am a mad woman. Which by this point I probably am.

I sit, still as a statue in complete shock. I almost killed someone.

It takes the beeping of horns behind me to startle me out of my daze and get me to start driving. I glance at the time, 6:12 am. Okay just keep going - at the normal speed limit.

* * *

**Elena POV**

_18 missed calls: Stefan Salvatore_

_6 voicemails: Stefan Salvatore_

I feel guilty. No. I would feel guilty however I am currently freaking out. I have called damon fourteen times and he is not picking up. Damon was always the one to pick up the phone on the first ring and answer with some witty remark.

_"Good morning sunshine"_

_"Bored of frown lines already"_

_"Oooh Elena I knew that you just couldn't resist me"_

And now I am driving like a crazy person - yeah I kinda abandoned the speed limit - wishing that he would just say something.

I am about two minutes away from the boarding house, praying that he is there.

I pull the car up outside as soon as I see the house, slamming my door in my haste to get inside when I hear it.

"PLEASE!"

"NO, NO, PLEASE, HELP!"

"AAHHHH!"

His screams are strangled and tortured.

"Damon" I whisper.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries**

**Damon POV**

The sun slithered through the glass window and scalded my porcelain skin, immediately causing it to blister. Although it was not as bad as direct contact it still seared right through.

My agonised screams filled the house, echoing from room to room. I knew that there was no hope, that this was how I was going to die.

My face was turned against the chair, facing away from the stained glass of the long windows, my body squirming and straining against the confines that held me in place. As I writhed, the still scorching metal embedded in my chest rubbed painfully against the surrounding bones. The wood of the old, victorian chair was threatening to break and splinter into my cheek.

I screamed, begging for salvation, whether it be death that came or my saviour I no longer cared, I just wanted out.

That's when I heard it. A car door slamming in the distance. And that's when I felt it. Hope.

I cried out, using the last of my energy and forcing it into my tortured voice.

"Damon" She whispered.

"Elena"

**Elena POV**

I rushed towards the Salvatores' large oak door and fumbled with the doorknob until it finally opened.

Once inside the anguished screams seemed amplified and there, straight in my line of sight, in front of the fireplace was Damon.

His hands were staked to the arms of a tall chair with some kind of collar around his bloodied neck and a metal pole protruding from from his chest. I stood horrified as he continued to writhe and shout out in utter pain, his head turned away from the sunlight.

Then it hit me - the sunlight.

I ran faster than I ever had before almost tripping over the rug in my haste to get to the window. I scrambled to the curtain yanking it closed and the sunlight that once streamed through the room turned to darkness.

I could hear sizzling coming from where damon was situated and I scampered to an old lamp on a small table and turned it on, providing a dim light.

Tears were streaming down my face as I looked at Damon in complete horror. He didn't even look like himself. His head was now hung in exhaustion and his skin was bright red. I slowly approached his hunched form, afraid to touch him in fear of causing him more pain.

"Elena" He whimpered.

"Damon..wh-what sould I do?" I asked unsure, my tears threatening to bring me over the edge.

He slowly moved the fingers on his right hand, groaning.

I knew what he was asking me to do but the thought made my stomach drop.

"It hurts" He moaned, his voice higher than usual yet rough.

"I know, I know. I'm gonna help you okay?" He nodded his head weakly, his eyes closed.

I took a deep breath and swallowed with a gulp. I could do this.

I stood from my kneeling position on the floor and reached with a trembling hand toward the peace of wood that now pinned him to the chair. He winced as I gripped the stake. _Okay one, two, three Elena you can do this. I thought to myself. One…...Two….THREE._

"Aarghhh" He yelled as I pulled it out and tossed it to the floor.

"Sorry, sorry. Okay? I'm sorry!" I repeated as he let out a long, low growl, breathing through his teeth

"We'll do something easier next okay?" I said, reaching for the scissors that I had noticed on the the table, by the lamp.

I picked them up and hurried back to Damon who was over the worst of his pain but was now whimpering like an animal.

I raised the scissors to his neck and he flinched away in fear.

"It's okay i just need to get this thing off." I said, touching the leather that encircled his neck.

He nodded weakly.

It took a good five minutes for the scissors to chew their way through the fabric - so much for 'easier' - but by the time I had done I saw the real extent of the damage done to his neck.

The wooden nails attached to the device had punctured Damon's neck in several places leaving a bloody ring around it.

Tears were still streaming down my face and I was sniffling every two seconds. Damon was trying to shush me and calm me but it was was a bad attempt considering that his voice was failing him and he was coughing at the end of his words.

I threw it to the floor and contemplated what to do next. Well I sure as hell wasn't touching the metal pole yet so I settled for the other stake.

_Just do it quick and get it over with._

I grabbed the wood and yanked it from his hand, bursting into tears as Damon reached for his hand crying out. Both hands now had holes in them with a diameter of about 3cm.

I knew that blood would heal him but that was of little comfort to me as I watched him struggle and I couldn't even hug him.

"Who did this to you?" I growled.

"The mongrels of Mystic Falls." He replied angrily.

Then it clicked. Jules. That bitch was looking for the moonstone and she wasn't stopping at anything to get to it.

"Where is she?" I asked, looking around.

"She left. Her and her group of friends." He said.

I put that thought to the back of my mind for now and concentrated on the pained and tortured soul in front of me.

"I don't think that i'm gonna be able to get that out on my own." I said staring at the metal.

"I'll help you." He replied.

"What? No you're too weak." I panicked.

"Thanks"

"You know what I mean" I chastised.

"It's fine." He placed his hands on the front of the pole, nearest to his chest and I reluctantly put mine against his yet further away.

"You ready?" I asked.

He nodded

"One, two, THREE!"

I Pulled and he pushed effectively moving the metal out slowly, bit by bit.

His face was crumpled up in agony and he yelled as the metal dragged through his insides.

Eventually the last of the pole made it out and I tossed it to the floor with a clang.

He fell forward holding his chest and I pulled him to me, burying my face in his neck and crying.

"It's okay, you did it. It's over now." I whispered consoling him.

I knew the danger of what I was doing. At any minute I could feel fangs puncturing the skin of my neck but I knew that it wouldn't happen. I knew that he wouldn't do that, no matter how thirsty he was. I trusted him. More than anyone.

* * *

**Hang on there's still more to come! However I go back to school on the 6th so i promise a chapter tomorrow but there may not be one on monday. Have a good night my fellow Delena fans!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries**

**Elena POV**

We sat like that for about five minutes. Just clinging to each other, not wanting to ever let go.

The feeling was gone now. By the time my panic was over the sensation had disappeared.

Damon's blood was suddenly everywhere: on the chair, on the floor, seeping through my clothes. He needed blood.

"I'll be right back." I whispered soothingly as I slowly settled him back into the chair.

He groaned in protest but I put my finger to his lips silencing him.

* * *

**Elena POV**

I was in the Salvatores' basement where all of the blood bags were stored. I stared into the freezer, unsure. How much did he need? My first guess was a lot.

A piece of blue plastic in the corner caught my eye.

I grabbed the plastic bag and rushed back to the freezer. How long did it take for a vampire to desiccate? I wondered as I started loading the blood into the bag.

Once the bag was full I closed the heavy lid of the freezer and hoped that I had collected enough.

_Thump!_

My head turned automatically to the ceiling, looking for the source of the unexpected noise. Frowning I took the stairs two at a time, rushing to see what was wrong.

I entered the living room and looked towards the chair that I had left an injured Damon in. An injured Damon who was now on the hardwood floor.

I dropped the bag and darted to the figure sprawled out on the floor, kneeling down.

"Damon!?" I exclaimed.

"What happened?" I asked him.

"I fell." He groaned.

"Why were you up." I asked accusingly.

"My ring." He said stretching his and towards the small piece of metal on the floor.

I grabbed it for him and placed it on the third finger of his still red right hand.

"Ow." He moaned.

"I know, I know." I comforted him.

I reached for the blue bag that I had stranded on the rug and dragged it in our direction. Reaching for one of the clear bags and practically shoving it in his face.

Veins slithered around his eyes and pearl white canines elongated and pierced through the thin material, taking long, drawn out gulps from the bag.

I reached for another bag of blood and placed his head in my lap, ripping the bag open and placing it to his mouth and watched in fascination and he gripped my arm with just the right pressure and fed as I stroked his soft, black hair.

* * *

**Damon POV**

It was like I was dreaming.

She held me without fear. I could feel her fingers running through my hair. Her eyes burned into mine as mine did to hers.

She held me like that until I had drained the numerous bags that she had collected for me.

I tried to ignore the way that she looked into my eyes as she brushed her thumb along along my lip, gathering the blood spilt there.

As quickly as she had became transfixed in the moment, she shook her head and came out of her daze.

"umm…..errr….-" She stumbled, her breathing uneven.

"Can I go to my room?" I asked trying to distract her and break the awkwardness and tension in the air.

"Are you strong enough?" She asked concerned.

"I think so." I lied. I didn't have the heart to tell her that feeding from blood bags was going to take longer to heal me than fresh blood would.

"Okay." She mumbled, slowly helping me to my feet.

As soon as I stood I regretted asking her. My legs were shaking and I was putting more of my weight on her than was wise but I had to at least try.

We took the stairs slowly, bit by bit. It was the weakest that I had ever felt but eventually we made it to my large room.

She looked around curiously. She had only ever been here once, the night rose had died. As if this was an alarm to her she tuned and looked at me with wide, panicked eyes.

"Wait…..they didn't…" She trailed off.

"No. I'm bite free." I drawled sarcastically.

She breathed out, relief coloring her features.

I stumbled my way over and practically fell onto my large, wooden bed.

"Damon! You're gonna get blood all over the sheets!" She said waving to the snow white sheets that I was now sprawled across.

She walked over and sat on my left reaching for my once blue now maroon drenched shirt and started unbuttoning it.

She was avoiding my eyes, watching my skin intently as she slowly opened the fabric down the middle, revealing my chest then my stomach. It was the same as downstairs. I once again tried to ignore the electricity, the tingles that shot through me everytime that her fingers 'accidentally' brushed my skin.

She pulled me up into a sitting position and pulled the scrap of clothing over my shoulders, down my arms and threw it to the floor.

She laid me back down on the bed and stared at the bloody hole in the centre of my chest.

She raised her hand cautiously, her eyes finally meeting mine as if to ask my permission. I nodded slightly and she brushed her delicate fingers over the wounded flesh tenderly. She repeated the action several times and once finished her hand lingered until I broke the silence.

"Why did you do it?" I whispered.

"Do what?" She asked frowning and looking me in the eye.

"Save me." I replied quietly.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries**

**Elena POV**

I looked at him bewildered. Why did he feel the need to ask me that? He knew what he meant to me right?

"What?" I asked disbelieving.

"I mean you could have just watched me burn if you wanted to. You know better that anyone what I put you through with Jeremy." He said quietly as if hoping that I wouldn't hear.

He was looking anywhere but me, afraid of the answer. I already knew what he was expecting me to say - _'I care about you Damon'_.

Yes he scared the hell out of me when he snapped Jeremy's neck. I wasn't sure if I could forgive him but I did because no matter how much I deny it I need him in my life.

Everything that Damon has ever done has been driven by heartbreak and anger.

I lift his head to look him in the eyes. I had to choose my words very carefully in this moment, I didn't want a repeat of the last time that he had opened up to me.

"I saved you because believe it or not Damon…...you mean something to me….and I need you." I said relaying my own thoughts to him.

He looked up at me confused.

"Even when I hated you, I needed you. Bonnie tried to kill you Damon, and I stopped her because I needed you." I clarified.

I reached down to the bed and encircled him in my arms. He wrapped his arms around me in return, something that surprised me.

He had never hugged me back before now.

I guess it made sense. Not to let anyone in in case they hurt you.

I guess he knew now that I wasn't going to. He trusted me.

"So _Gone With The Wind_ huh?..." I whispered.

He laughed "Yeah" he said sheepishly.

I laughed pulling back from our embrace and shifting on the bed to lie next to him, grabbing the one book from the top of the pile by his bedside in the process.

"Who knew that Damon Salvatore was a bookworm?" I said connivingly.

"Nobody. My mother introduced me to the world of books." He whispered his eyes glazing over as if he were looking at a distant memory.

"You were close?" I asked.

"Extremely." He replied nodding.

"She gave me a book for my birthday one year. _The Winter's Tale_." He said smiling

"_Shakespeare_?" I asked.

He nodded

"She sneaked into my room late that night and gave it to me. My father didn't like her spending money. Especially not on me." He said.

"But she bought it anyway." I stated, already getting the feeling that Damon's mother loved him very much.

"Yes." He smiled.

"She told me that once you open a book, it's a whole different world inside. She was right. I used to steal some of my father's books and lay awake at night reading." He said, remembering.

"I used it as a way of escaping my father, going into this world where people get along." He said sadly.

"What age were you?" I inquired

"About fourteen." He replied

I could imagine it. It was picturesque in my head, a fourteen year old damon hiding under the covers late at night, smiling as he turned the page of an old withered novel.

"My mother died later that year." He said sadly.

"I'm sorry." I said hugging him.

He looked like he was in the edge of tears. His mother meant a lot to him and I knew how it felt to just have someone torn away from you like that.

He took a deep breath in and started, "That reminds me. I got you an early birthday present," he pulled back, getting up from the bed and hobbling over to a large chest-like box and searching through it.

"My birthday isn't for weeks." I complained.

"Has the meaning of 'early' changed recently and I haven't noticed?" He mocked me.

"No but-"

"Then there shouldn't be a problem." He cut me off, standing and limping back to where I sat.

"Happy Birthday." He whispered lowly in my ear, handing me a book.

I looked at the front cover in shock:

_The Winter's Tale_

_William Shakespeare _

"It's the same one as my mother gave me." He whispered

"Oh my God Damon! I can't take this!" I exclaimed loudly.

"You can and you will. Open it." He said

The book was leather bound and withered looking, what you would imagine a 200 year old book would look like. It was beautiful, you could almost see the history that you were presented with.

I opened the first page.

_Damon_

_I hope you find as much satisfaction and as much salvation as I did_

_with this book. Happy Birthday._

_I love you, always_

_Your mother _

_28th June 1855_

_Elena_

_I hope that this book can be your escape. You're escape from this life that you didn't ask for._

_It's a whole different world inside and I hope that you carry it with you and pass it to the one that you love the most. Happy Birthday._

_I love you, always_

_Damon_

**I hope that you enjoyed that chapter, I am surprised that I found time to write and as I said I am back to school so I promise to try and update tomorrow but I may not be able to have a nice night!**

**Anna **


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries**

**Damon POV**

She was beautiful. She looked at me with those doe eyes. That smile stretched across her face, the one that made me glad that I was her best friend, the one that told me that no matter what everything was going to turn out okay.

She grabbed me and pulled me into a tight hug.

"Ow." I laughed.

"Sorry!" She pulled back looking me over like she had expected me to fall apart.

"I'm fine." I reassured her.

"Thank you." She smiled.

"Your welcome." I whispered.

**Elena POV**

"What was your relationship like with your father?" I asked carefully, expecting the worst.

"I don't like to talk about it." He mumbled.

"Why not?" I asked, extremely curious now.

"I just…..don't. It wasn't exactly a normal father-son relationship." He said frowning and looking blankly at the bed sheets.

"What is?" I asked.

"What he and Stefan had." He whispered.

"He cared more about stefan than he did you?" I asked gently.

"Something like that."

"Why?" I asked, feeling like I was asking too many questions but too curious to leave it alone.

"Because. I wasn't the son he wanted me to be." He said angrily.

"And what was that? Who did he want you to be?" I asked.

"Stephan, his trophy, the face of the family." He said.

I knew that Damon's relationship with his father wasn't great but how could a father just reject his son like that? How could he love his other son more?

"I'm sorry." I said truthfully.

"It's fine. I've had 146 years to get over it." He said.

"But clearly you haven't." I stated.

"I mean it is a little bit of a coincidence that his No.1 son was the one who murdered him." I should have argued with him, but I couldn't. I felt sorry for him. everyone that he had ever loved had rejected him and chosen his brother…...including me.

"Stop avoiding the question. Damon, you can trust me." I begged.

"Fine do you want to hear about it? About my messed up childhood? Fine. Our relationship was terrible from day one and got worse as I got older because I chose to be a soldier, because I chose to fight for my country instead of taking over the family business." He shouted.

"Damon-" He interrupted me.

"_When I look at you all I see Is disappointment!"_

"_You're an embarrassment to this family!"_

"_Why can't you be more like you're brother!"_

"Damon_, _Damon listen, listen to me." I said grabbing his face, forcing him to look at me.

He looked at me, tears in his eyes.

"Why didn't he love me?" He whimpered.

I pulled him to me burying my face in his neck, offering him the only comfort I could give him in this moment.

Then a small, broken whisper.

"Why does nobody love me back?"

My tears were flowing down my face and onto his naked shoulder, guilt consuming me. Now I understood why damon was the way that he was. He was rejected by everyone around him; his father, Katherine and me. He'd wore the mask of someone who had turned it off his whole life, making people believe he didn't care but on the inside he was full of heartbreak and anger and I was the only person who he could open up to.

He cried into my neck as I cried into his. We stayed this way for hours until he fell asleep against me. I carefully laid him down to the bed and covered him, kissing his cheek.

I tried to leave, making as little noise as possible as I stepped off of the bed. I walked down the large hallway to the staircase, making my way to the basement.

**Elena POV**

I stared into the open freezer. Something wasn't right, there was something he wasn't telling me.

I lifted five bags assuming that Damon wouldn't be as hungry as he had gorged on blood when I had first found him.

I closed the heavy lid on top of the freezer and made my way back to his bedroom.

**Elena POV**

"Ow." The suddenly not so sleeping form grumbled from next to me.

"Yeah, I thought so." I laughed.

"I got you some blood." I said, putting down his mother's book which I had been reading for the past two hours and picking up one if the blood bags and waving it in his face.

"Yummy." I mocked.

"O negative, my kind of girl." I laughed at his response.

He took the bag from me and stared at it for a second.

The dark veins appeared around his eyes and his teeth pierced the bag.

It was drained within seconds.

I looked at his teeth fascinated.

"Can I…..?" I asked lifting my hand shyly.

He nodded.

His canine was smooth and pearly white, the blood that was there a few seconds ago was gone, licked clean. The thought made me shiver in anticipation.

I marvelled at the difference of his teeth. A feeling of boldness surging through me as I ran my finger down to the point and applied a little pressure. Blood, my blood trickled into his mouth and he removed my finger from his tooth.

"Careful." He said looking down.

It may have only been for a second but I saw it. The skin of his chest starting to knit together. That was it. What he had been hiding from me. He needed fresh, human blood to heal.

"You need human blood?" I asked, feeling almost like I had been lied to.

"No. It's just…..quicker." He assured me.

"Feed from me." I whispered.

"What?" He asked, obviously thinking that he had heard me wrong.

"Feed from me, Damon."

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I am once again surprised that I have been able to update. However one day that I know that I won't be able to update is Thursday as I am out that night. I will update on friday though. Please review, follow or favourite and have a lovely night!**

**Anna**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries**

**Damon POV**

I looked at her. Disbelief clouding my eyes. Elena would never offer that, my mind must be playing tricks.

"I'm sorry what?" I said.

"Feed from me." She said, raising her wrist toward me.

I grabbed it and slowly placed it back on the bed.

"Elena. No." I breathed deeply, huffing loudly as I released the air that I once held.

"Damon I want you to. You need to heal." She persisted.

"Elena. You don't know what you're talking about." I whispered.

She tried to speak but I interrupted her.

"Look, if I were to drink your blood it would mean more than just drinking blood." I said carefully fearing her reaction.

"What? What would it mean Damon?" She asked, her interest clear in her voice.

"Blood sharing is….the most powerful connection that vampires can establish between one another. I forced my blood on you at my father's grave which means that if I have your blood the bond is….completed." I said truthfully.

"But i'm not a vampire." She said confused.

"Doesn't matter what matters is-" I cut myself off in the middle of that sentence before I made a huge mistake. _That I have feelings for you._

"What? What matters?" She frowned.

"It just…...it's the same." I stammered.

"Damon, I know that it is...important to you but I promise, I wont tell Stefan. You need to feed."

"No."

"Please." She whispered.

That word. The one that made want to do anything for her. She promised not to tell stefan and it probably wouldn't even affect her given that she is human and the bond is primarily shared between vampires.

"I wont hurt you." I whispered defeated.

"I trust you." She replied offering me her wrist again. I took it and slowly with care sunk my teeth into the veins that ran up her arm. I looked into her eyes as blood pooled in my mouth. I groaned, the taste was exquisite.

I drank slowly pulling her life from her body.

The feeling of feeding from victims was not one that I was experiencing. This, this was different. Every emotion that I felt for elena was heightened, one in particular standing out. Love.

What happened next I did not predict. I had heard of stories of blood sharing. I had heard that you only feel an intense connection through the exchange if the vampire is your mate. Vampire not human. How was it possible?

Everything she felt he felt and vice versa. Every memory flooding his brain.

Memories of her parents, her brother and her friends. Memories of her life before vampires made an appearance. Then it stopped. A flicker. One memory that did not want to make itself known.

Himself standing on a road. Not just any road. The road where her parents had picked her up the night that they died….the road where she met Damon.

"NO!" I screamed as I pulled away. I threw my body back and clashed into the wall at the opposite side of the room. Blood was dripping from my mouth, coating my chin.

"What was that?" She asked confused.

"Nothing." I whispered. She couldn't remember, she couldn't know.

I must have looked like a mad man. Hugging my legs to my chest, blood covering my face, my features not yet transformed back to normal. The compulsion was the one thing that held me together, the one thing that kept me safe from the hurt, the rejection.

"No, no, no, no, no." I repeated.

This wasn't supposed to happen.

**Elena POV**

He looked terrible, fragile. Curled in the corner, crazed mumbles falling from his lips.

"She can't know. Please, please." He said.

He struggled for breath. Breathing fast, air scraping his throat.

"_Katherine."_

"_You just really remind me of someone."_

"_You want what everybody wants."_

"_You want a love that consumes you."_

"_You want passion."_

"_An Adventure."_

"_Even a little danger."_

"_I want you to get everything you're looking for."_

I fell to the ground grabbing my head as his voice echoed and then I heard it. A door slamming downstairs.

"Elena?" I heard Stefan's voice ring out followed by the sound of his footsteps on the stairs.

I didn't know what to do. Stefan was gonna freak out. I was on the floor and Damon was rocking back and forth in the corner still looking very much like a vampire.

"Elena?" I heard stefan shout again. He was close.

I heard footsteps making their way down the hall towards Damon's room.

"Elena." Stefan whispered, running towards me.

He kneeled down next to me and pulled my face up to look at him.

"Look at me. Look at me. What happened?" He said, scared.

Then he smelled it. My blood.

"Stefan." I warned as he looked at my bloody wrist.

"It's okay." I assured him.

Rage sparked in his eyes as he looked at the wound and then a small whimper from the corner. Damon.

"What did he do to you?" He demanded, standing up.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries**

**Elena POV**

"Stefan please don't. Please." I screamed panicking as he stalked his way over to Damon's crumpled form.

"What did you do to her?" He screamed.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Please, please." Damon pleaded.

Stefan was too angry to even consider the possibility that I might have been willing.

He grabbed Damon by the arm, hurling him across the room faster than I could blink. He collided with the mirror and it smashed, shards of glass embedding themselves into the skin of his back.

I was crying, pleading with Stefan to stop this.

He walked over to where Damon was now whimpering and scratching his back trying to rid himself of the glass inside his skin. Stefan grabbed his throat, slamming his head to the ground repeatedly. Damon was coughing up blood, his stomach contracting as if he were about to vomit.

"You disgusting piece of shit." Stefan snarled as he climbed on top of him, punching him in the face.

Damon was curled up in the fetal position, trying to protect his head from the blows.

I heard something snap. His jaw.

"Stefan please stop hurting him!" I cried.

"No. Do you know why Elena? Because he's a manipulative, vindictive, egomaniac who needs to be stopped." He shouted at me.

Stefan grabbed his jaw, pulling his face from the floor.

"Look at him Elena." He commanded.

"Look at him!" He screamed.

"He's a monster." He whispered.

Then a snap. Stefan's body hit the floor with a thud.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. What did I do? What did I do?" Damon was freaking out, scrambling away from his brothers body.

I ran over to him and kneeled down grabbing his face.

"Hey, hey! It's okay. It's okay." I said pulling him to me and holding him close.

"Sit here. I'll be back in a minute." I whispered, patting the bed next to me.

He stood up robotically and sat down on the white sheets, his eyes not moving from Stefan's body.

I grabbed my kind of boyfriend's jacket and dragged him along the floor and out of the room, the sight wasn't helping Damon's current mental state.

I walked back into the room where Damon was staring at the wall unseeingly. I made my way towards the large en suite bathroom, grabbing a wash cloth and rinsing it under the faucet.

I sat on the bed beside Damon and turned his head to look at me so that I could wipe the blood from his face. His jaw was healed thanks to my blood that was still coursing through his veins.

"Elena?" He asked frowning.

"Yeah." I whispered.

"I don't know what happened. I just….one minute I was fine and the next…..I don't know. What's happening to me?" He asked brokenly.

"Hey, it's okay. I think you just had a Damon scale mental breakdown that's all." I tried to joke.

"I'm sorry." He whispered.

"It's okay sweetie." I said pulling him into a hug.

"Go to sleep." I whispered in his ear.

**Elena POV**

"What the hell was that?" I demanded.

"He deserved it. He knows what blood sharing means Elena." He said trying to get past me.

"No he didn't. Yes he knows what it means, he explained it to me before he drank my blood which by the way I offered him but I insisted that he took it." I explained.

"You what?" He demanded, looking at me like I had lost my mind.

"Keep your voice down!" I hissed at him trying not to wake Damon who was currently knocked out nextdoor.

"I swear to God if you try to hurt him I will never speak to you again," I threatened.

"Since when do you care? He killed your brother remember? What happened to _'I hate him Stefan.' _?" He asked.

"Things change Stefan." I said.

"Not Damon. He doesn't change Elena. He doesn't do good. He brings everything that's bad into this town!"

"Oh I bet you're loving this aren't you?" I said snidely.

"What?" He asked confused.

"Being the good brother, trying to make everything better, being the one that everybody loves, the one who always gets the girl." I replied.

"What are you talking about?" He asked frowning.

"Your whole life Stefan!" I exclaimed exhausted.

"Ever since you were born you were the one who everybody loved. Your dad, Katherine…...me. Have you never taken a second. Just a second to think about how he might feel."

"Elena I don't have time for this right now." He said and stormed out of the room.

"You know i've never really thought about it but everyone seems to be against him. Caroline, Bonnie, Jeremy, Jenna, John, Isobel, me. I mean everyone hates him, he doesn't deserve that."

"Yes he does. Elena he kills people. He ruins everything." He turns on me.

"Everything bad that's happened in this town is his fault Elena!"

"Get out." I said blankly.

He walked away shaking his head.

"God!" I hissed under my breath.

I made my way back towards Damon's bedroom and stopped when I saw him.

He was beautiful. He was sprawled out on the bed, eyes closed and hair ruffled.

I walked over to the large, wooden bed and kneeled down next to him. I slowly lifted my hand and stroked his silky, black hair.

"I'm so sorry." I whispered, wiping away a tear.

I crawled into the bed next to him and sorted the sheets to cover me. I wrapped my arms around him and put my head to his chest, closing my eyes.

_I promise, I will never hurt you again._

This was my last thought before I drifted to sleep in his arms.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries**

**Damon POV**

I rolled over groaning. Then I realised, nothing hurt, well except for my jaw which hurt like a bitch. Then I remembered, Stefan. He had arrived home when I was at my worst, when everything hurt, not physically but otherwise. It all came crashing down again, everything.

"_I don't deserve you."_

"_My brother does."_

"_You just need to hear it."_

"_God, I wish you didn't have to forget this."_

"_I love you."_

"_But you do."_

I could never break down around her, never give her a reason to pity me, a reason to reject me. However I could break down on my own time (that's what bourbon is for). I couldn't deal with my emotions anymore and I realised that I couldn't just turn it off anymore because she would notice. She was always the one person who could read me better than anyone else.

I couldn't believe what I had showed her, well at least what I had started to show her. After a while all of it just blends together: all of the hurt, the pain, the heartbreak, the anger, everything. Nothing matters, or that's what I tell myself but when I look at her. She is _all _that matters in the world.

My brother hates me for it. Hates the fact that I do everything that needs to be done. Everything that is essential to keep her alive. The fact that even if I am hated for it I will always put her first, no matter what. I am hated for it. People have to die. It's part of life, you live and you die and I will do everything in my power to ensure that Elena lives even if someone she loves has to die. So I watch as she pushes me away, as she declares her hatred and it's worth it but it doesn't make it hurt any less.

I opened my eyes one at a time, introducing my pupils to the darkness. It must have been a full day since Elena found me.

"What time is it?" I asked not expecting an answer.

"Four thirty in the morning." Came my favourite voice from across the room.

I sat up squinting my eyes. My jaw dropped.

Elena was standing in my room in her underwear.

Her red, lacy underwear.

"Can I borrow one of your shirts?" She asked smirking.

"Umm ugh s-sure?"

"Is that a question?" She laughed.

"N-no?"

She guffawed, bit her lip and shook her head.

"Where might I find one?" She asked. She knew what she was doing.

"Top drawer." I whispered.

I watched as she stalked over with those long legs, those long, _long_ legs to my dresser and pulled open the top drawer. She pulled out one of my black shirts. My eyes bugged out of their sockets as I watched her pull it on and start to button it. she stopped buttoning it just below her bra - I guess she got lazy or maybe she just wanted to torture me.

"I thought you would have left." I said.

"Why?" She frowned.

"well….I mean Stefan came back and I i'm okay so…"

"So?" She encouraged.

"So I just assumed that you would have left."

"Again, why?"

"Ugh because it's Stefan." _It'll always be Stefan._

"Well I didn't. I got mad and chucked him out." She stated.

"I'm sorry what? You threw him out of his own house?" I said incredulously.

"Yup."

"So…." I lead off.

"You seem to like that word." She said grinning.

"What did you fight about?" I asked curiously.

"You." She said.

"Anything you wanna highlight."

"Nope."

"Okay." I said confused.

"Look it's just...I got really mad and I don't want to talk about it because it turns out that I have to think about it. I have to think about a lot of things…..my choice of friends included."

"Okay." I said, still confused.

"So i've made a deal with myself." She said boldly.

"What's that?"

"Don't think. Just feel." She whispered.

**Elena POV**

"It was 1931." I argued.

"Trust me, I was there. 1932." He replied smugly.

"1931." I said stubbornly.

"'Holodomor' is the Ukrainian word for 'killing by hunger' and it took place from 1932 - 1933."

"You were there." I said unconvinced.

"Well I was alive." He said.

"Maybe you should take a history lesson." I stated.

"Yeah maybe." He laughed.

"It must have been horrible." I said sadly.

Millions of people consumed with hunger, many dying.

"I know." He replied.

"What was it like? Living through crisis." I asked curiously.

"Difficult. Knowing that you could help but knowing that it would arouse suspicion. Watching from a distance."

"Did you ever fight." I asked.

"No. Not during my life as a vampire. However I was a part of the confederacy when I was human." He said.

"Really?" I asked shocked.

"Yes. Another decision that my father frowned upon." He said sadly.

"Don't." I said quickly.

He frowned at me confused.

"Don't talk about him." I said shaking my head.

"Okay." He whispered.

**Elena POV**

I opened my eyes and rolled over, I smelled like him and I loved it. It would take years for damon to gain his shirt back. I felt the empty spot beside me on the bed. I sat up confused, My hand grasping something that felt like paper.

_Went hunting._

_Look in the bottom drawer of my dresser._

_Damon. x_

I frowned and walked over to the large dresser where I had gained my new sleepwear about an hour before and knelt down opening the drawer. Inside there was a mess of paper but one in particular caught my eye.

_Holodomor "Killing by hunger" 1932 - 1933_

I shook my head smiling. Underneath was a photo. A photo of a young Damon in his confederate soldier uniform looking, well _dashing_.

I flipped the photo over and written in dark ink was;

_Well I hate to say I told you so but…._

_Keep this. It belongs to you._

_Damon. x_


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries**

**Damon POV**

I liked walking. After 146 years of living as a vampire, I miss it. Most of the time I think of having vampire traits as a convenience but as time goes on it's the human things that you miss. Walking is the simplest form of travel yet as a vampire it takes too long. Why should we care? We have all the time in the world.

I walk slowly back to the boarding house, through the thick forest surroundings, savouring the feeling of being ordinary, though I am anything but.

My thoughts stray to Elena. That right there. That is my humanity. The last part of me that can be salvaged. She is the thing that makes me want to live. But what happens when the person that makes you want to live is the one that can so easily tear you to pieces. I'm not lying to myself, I know that it was selfish of me to ever hope. to ever feel like there might be a chance in hell that she would choose me but that hope is what makes me get out of bed in the morning and i'm grateful for that. And after over a century of feeling nothing she was the one who made me feel again. I'm grateful for that also.

**Elena POV**

I heard the front door open downstairs and ran down the hallway smiling.

"Hey Damon, I was wondering if…" I spun around the corner and at the bottom of the stairs was a very shocked blond vampire.

"OH MY GOD." She screeched looking extremely pissed off.

"Caroline." I whispered, shocked. I hurried to button up Damon's shirt as far as it could go.

"Oh my GOD!" She repeated.

"Okay, Okay I get the point. Shhh." I hushed her.

"What the hell?" She demanded.

"Okay I know what this looks like-"

"Yeah and it looks bad. Like really bad! What is going on? You're supposed to be dating Stefan right? You're still dating Stefan aren't you?" She rambled.

"Caroline-"

"Oh my God. You're cheating on Stefan!" She whispered.

"N-n-no!"

"Well you don't seem very sure. and you're standing in nothing but his brother's shirt so excuse me for jumping to conclusions."

"No I'm not cheating on Stefan. I don't even know what's going on with Stefan and I right now but-"

The front door opened and revealed a more refreshed looking Damon.

"Oh speak of the devil!" Caroline screeched.

"What's happening right now?" Damon inquired, confused.

"God knows!" Caroline replied.

"Tone it down please Caroline." Damon said wincing.

"Oh you don't even know what's coming sunshine."

"Watch it Barbie."

"SHUT UP!" I screamed from the stairs.

"Look, Damon was attacked by the werewolves and was badly hurt. I helped him."

"Why are you in his shirt?" Caroline asked.

"There was a lot of blood okay." I explained.

"Well thank you for cleaning that up. Elena go and put clothes on i'm taking you home."

"No you're not mom." I mocked.

"Yes I am. He is clearly taking advantage of you. He's fine. You must be compelled." She said.

"And you must be deluded." I fired back at her.

"Elena-"

"No you listen to me. I'm staying here-"

"No you're not." Damon said quietly from the door.

"What?" I asked him, upset.

"You're going home." He said sadly.

The next thing I knew Damon was walking up the stairs, past me and towards his room leaving a smug Caroline and a very shocked me behind.

"Get out." I said to Caroline.

"What?-"

"I'm not going to argue with you. Get out." I said my voice rising.

Apparently Caroline knew what was good for her and stormed out of the house slamming the the door behind her.

"What was that?" I demanded, storming into his room.

"That was me doing the right thing." He said quietly, his back to me staring out the window into the darkness.

"What do you mean the right thing?" I asked.

"It was selfish of me to ever think that…." He trailed off.

"What? That someone could actually care about you? That I could care about you?" I whispered.

He turned slightly, picked up the bottle of bourbon that was on his dresser and poured himself a drink.

"Damon, please. Don't give up."

"Don't give up on what Elena? On the fact that someone will see me as something more than a monster? Because that's not possible I am a monster!" He screamed, turning around.

"No you're not." I insisted.

"Yes I am and for once I am deciding to do the right thing. Go home Elena. I don't want you to get involved in this."

"I'm already involved Damon." I screamed.

"I know that." He said in an even tone.

"And i'll be gone before you dig yourself in deeper."

It was spoken so softly I barely heard it, but I did.

"What?" I asked my voice breaking.

"I love you and that's why i'm choosing to let you go. Please let me go."

"No no! I am not letting you go. Damon don't push me away please this is what you do. You let someone in and then you get scared and push them away. Don't do this." I pleaded.

"Give me one good reason. One reason why I shouldn't just go. I mean it's better for everyone not just you."

"Because I remember!"

**Thank you for taking the time to read please review and I apologize for not updating for a while life is hectic at the moment. Anyway thanks again for reading. I am anticipating only one or two more chapters left to this story but not to worry I have a few more story ideas up my sleeve. Have a nice night!**

**Anna**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries**

**Elena POV**

He was frozen.

"I remember everything." I repeated softly.

I walked towards him and put my hand on his tensed shoulder. Now was not the time to think about the hard muscle under his shirt. I exhaled loudly.

"Damon. Why?" I asked almost pleadingly.

"Because I just had to say it once." He whispered, his eyes finding mine in the barely lit room.

"No. Why? How could you take that away from me?"

"What?" He asked, confused.

"Did you ever think, for just...just a second that maybe I would want to keep those moments?" I asked him carefully.

He frowned.

The memories had came back slowly ever since we had shared blood, just blurry flickers but had bit by bit morphed into solid memories. Memories of Damon. All I could think about was his face, how he had looked when he told me that he didn't deserve me, that Stefan did. He was wrong. He is wrong. Stefan was easy to figure out. He was guilt ridden, emotional, loving…...safe. But Damon...Damon was more. He was complex. He had this….this fire about him, he was witty. But most of all he was Damon. He was all consuming, passionate, adventurous and a little bit dangerous. I smiled thinking of our first meeting. He was the stranger with all of the answers.

"There I was, standing in my room, feeling, for just a second…...and then it was gone." I admitted.

"Wh-what? You think you don't deserve me? People who do bad things are just….broken people, people who have done nothing wrong and had all the good things taken away from them. I was scared that one day you were gonna snap...and I would lose you and can't do that, I can't lose you. So please I'm begging you to stay….for me….with me."

"All I ever do is hurt you, hurt the people around me. You were right about me Elena. I'm 'a psychopath with no redeeming qualities'. And I know that I sound like Stefan right now but trust me...you're better off without me." He said softly.

"You see that's where you're wrong. You have came into this town and you have protected me from everything that's threatened us. Even if it made me hate you, you cared enough to do everything that was needed to keep me safe."

"You're wrong." He said.

"What about Elijah? Hmm you saved me from him." I reminded him.

"With stefan." He stated, not backing down.

"I don't care. You were the one who was willing to go up against an original to protect me. And I would do the same for you. Remember...Georgia. I barely knew you but for some reason...no matter what you'd done I couldn't watch you die. Because deep down inside I knew….I knew- "

"You knew what Elena?!" He exploded.

He stalked towards me, his gaze cold.

"What? That would need me later…..to help you if something went wrong. To-"

"I knew that I was in love with you!" I screamed.

"I love you." I whispered quietly, only just admitting it to myself.

He looked at me in disbelief.

"Damon-" I started but he interrupted me.

He grabbed me and crashed his lips to mine. As soon as they touched it was as if a fire had ignited inside of me. A fire that I had never before experienced. His lips moulded to mine as if they were made specifically for each other. He groaned, pressing his lips harder against mine, his hands running torturously slowly from my face to my sides and then to my hips where he pulled me flat against him. I could feel him hard through his jeans. I wanted him.

His hands once again slithered down my body where they wrapped themselves around the backs of my thighs and hoisted me up against him. I giggled as my back collided with a solid wood bookcase. He placed one hand against the shelf as if to control himself, I could hear the wood creaking beneath his strength.

His lips moved from mine dragging themselves across my cheek to my jaw where he kissed and nibbled with his human teeth making me laugh. He then worked his way down my neck, placing hot, open-mouthed kisses that made me moan loudly. I quickly grabbed his cheek and forced his mouth back to mine once again, I couldn't take any more of this torture. I slowly started unbuttoning his shirt quickly becoming frustrated with the buttons that refused to open. Damon's right hand stopped drawing teasing circles on my thigh and reached across to grab the left side of his collar and ripped the seemingly flimsy fabric right down until discarded pieces laid on the oak floor, buttons scattered everywhere. I laughed, running my hands down his muscular chest.

"Are you sure about this?" He asked against my swollen lips.

"I've never been more sure about anything in my entire life." I replied, smiling.

**Sooooo…..rating help anyone is this okay for a T rating? Please review and let me know, if not I will change it. Given that this is my first fanfiction I'm not sure. I apologize if the rating should be higher and made anyone uncomfortable. I am thinking one more short chapter to this story until it is complete! Thanks for reading and please review. Have a nice night.**

**Anna**


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries**

**Damon POV**

Satisfaction. It has been years since I had felt it coursing through my veins. True satisfaction. The feeling of peace settled in my bones. I could feel the sun coming in through the window warming my skin. I never wanted it to end.

I opened my eyes, the sun immediately irritating them but I didn't care. I was too happy to care.

The sight I was greeted with was even more satisfactory. I never once thought that I would wake up in bed with a naked Elena Gilbert. Her hair flowed down her back as she slept on her stomach. Beautiful.

A small smile lit up my lips.

I could sit here for an eternity and never tire of the sight.

I closed my eyes again settling into the bed, the air of serenity remaining.

Soon I felt a slight shifting on the bed, then her warmth closer, then her hair tickling my stomach and her lips brushing beneath my navel, slowly making their way up my torso. Her fingers slipped into mine as her torturous lips reached my neck and began suckling there. I let out a low moan, the past night of arousal clearly making itself known again.

Electricity spiked the air. I slowly trailed my free hand down her body, teasing. Her whimpers against my neck vibrating through me and settling low in my abdomen. And just like that the tranquil calm turned to fire.

**Elena POV**

I squealed as I ran down the stairs, Damon following close behind. I got to the bottom thinking I had evaded him. I turned around but he wasn't there. Suddenly I felt strong arms grab me around my waist and hoist me towards his chest.

I grinned, running my fingers through his hair. He chuckled lowly, smiling, obviously enjoying the moment.

Soon his smile faded and his eyes saddened. I knew what he was thinking. _Stefan_

"Don't." I said tracing his cheeks.

"Don't ruin this…..please I'm happy. Just...please." I continued.

He nodded slowly, his eyes cast downward. I could see that he couldn't let it go but I wasn't ready to let go of this feeling yet.

Last night had been the best night in my entire life and I couldn't help but compare it to Stefan. We had never been that close. Physically, mentally, emotionally….

Damon and I had always had that connection, the ability to understand one another, no verbal communication needed. But last night had sparked something in me that I didn't even know I had but that I knew was missing. My past experiences with Stefan paled in comparison.

I know what I want.

"Hungry?" Damon asked - not so casually trying to change the subject.

I nodded in response.

He walked slowly with me in his arms towards the large kitchen and sat me down on a stool at the counter.

"Any preferences?"

"Nope. You choose."

I watched as he made his way easily around the kitchen, picking out the utensils needed for whatever he had come up with. His mood seemed to brighten as he worked.

It reminded me of the times we had cooked together as if we owned the place. I smiled at the memory. Even when I had first met Damon he could make me laugh.

About fifteen minutes later he placed in front of me the most delicious looking pancakes known to man with syrup drizzled on top.

"Milady." He said sarcastically.

"When I said you choose I meant pick what cereal. This is amazing! When did you learn to cook?" I asked.

"When I was human." He said smiling, obviously that portion of his childhood was a happy memory.

I took a bite and my God was it as good as it looked!

"Mmmmm." I moaned.

I caught Damon looking at my lips 'discreetly'.

I hooked my arm around his neck and pulled his lips to mine. He responded hesitantly but after a moment pulled back and turned around.

I jumped off the stool and ran my hand up his back and could feel his tensed muscles.

"Hey." I said.

"Hey." I repeat turning him around.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I can't help thinking that once this is all over you'll go back to him." He admitted.

"Why would you think that?" I said, shocked.

"Because that's what happens Elena. Katherine did it. She came to me so that I could give her butterflies now and then, show her a good time and then once my brother comes home….it all disappears…..and I don't matter." He bared his soul. The thing that he only does for me and I catch a glimpse of the hurt...the pain. He built his walls ups so high to protect himself from getting hurt. He switched it off for a century to escape.

"No. Damon no….I love you." I said pulling him into my embrace.

"And I love you." He whispered into my neck.

I pulled back and looked him in the eye. Then I kissed him with everything I had. The passion, the fire, the love. All of it.

And that's when we both heard it the sound of the front door opening and Stefan's boots against the hardwood flooring.

I looked at Damon to see if he was ready. He nodded and kissed me quickly.

I laced my fingers with his and determination made it's way into my mind.

I was ready.

I was ready to have this really hard conversation.

I was ready to cut ties with stefan.

I was ready to start my new life.

With Damon.

Eternally.

THE END

**Finito. Finally! I hope you enjoyed the story. If you did please leave a review or favourite. Thank you for reading.**

**Anna xxx**


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